Choosing arrival time with online check-in?

Our cruise is getting close and NCL has added an option on the online check-in where we can choose our arrival time from a drop-down menu. The choices are half hour increments starting at 9:30 to 10:00 and going to 2:30 to 3:00. This is only our 2nd NCL cruise so wondering if this is something that is common? (Our first cruise was on the POA following a drydock which messed up the embarkation times totally.)

Here is a copy & paste from the website:

Anyway...I am wondering if choosing the early arrival times will mean you can actually board at that time, or if we would be left sitting in the terminal for several hours. I've never been on a cruise where the ship was ready to board much before noon. Seems like having passengers arrive as early as 9:30 would cause quite a crowd in the terminal if boarding doesn't begin right away.

No "check in" is NOT boarding.

Sometimes people want lower boarding group numbers, so they want to check in as early as possible. If you are not trying for Vibe/Posh passes (on the Epic, Escape, Breakaway and Getaway) and don't want to wait around the terminal, then I wouldn't choose the earliest group.

Arrival time is for checking-in and has little to do with boarding time. NCL tries to spread out the check-in load by scheduling specific times throughout the morning. Since many passengers are arriving in taxis straight from a flight, they have little choice on their arrival times.

The boarding process itself on NCL is really pretty simple. No one is allowed to board the ship until all previous guests are off and the ship is certified as empty. That is generally about 11 am. Sometimes you get lucky and the ship is cleared by 10:30 am but it can often be as late as 11 or 11:30 am. Once the ship is cleared, suite guests will be the first to board. After suite guests, it is Latitude members, Platinum and above by level and finally the the check-in folks in the waiting areas. If you choose to arrive and check-in at 8:30 am, you will join a group of passengers in a waiting area until all of this has occurred. If the waiting areas are your idea of getting an early start...go for it. Most of the more experienced cruisers arrive after 12 or 1 pm when both check-in and boarding are much quicker..

Is there any port NCL is actually enforcing the arrival time?

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Is there any port NCL is actually enforcing the arrival time?

 

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None that I'm aware of. How could they?. You were supposed to get here at 10:30, and it's 11:30 now. so you can't check in. LOL I know it's suppose to work the other way, but it really can't be enforced. No one even looks at the times on the edocs.

Arrival time is for checking-in and has little to do with boarding time. NCL tries to spread out the check-in load by scheduling specific times throughout the morning. Since many passengers are arriving in taxis straight from a flight, they have little choice on their arrival times.

 

 

The boarding process itself on NCL is really pretty simple. No one is allowed to board the ship until all previous guests are off and the ship is certified as empty. That is generally about 11 am. Sometimes you get lucky and the ship is cleared by 10:30 am but it can often be as late as 11 or 11:30 am. Once the ship is cleared, suite guests will be the first to board. After suite guests, it is Latitude members, Platinum and above by level and finally the the check-in folks in the waiting areas. If you choose to arrive and check-in at 8:30 am, you will join a group of passengers in a waiting area until all of this has occurred. If the waiting areas are your idea of getting an early start...go for it. Most of the more experienced cruisers arrive after 12 or 1 pm when both check-in and boarding are much quicker..

How does this work when there are 2 embarkation ports? We are boarding in Rome so all the passengers who got on the ship in Barcelona will still be onboard. Some of these passengers will be getting off to go on excursions and others will be leaving to return home?

How does this work when there are 2 embarkation ports? We are boarding in Rome so all the passengers who got on the ship in Barcelona will still be onboard. Some of these passengers will be getting off to go on excursions and others will be leaving to return home?

You can arrive when you want. It's no different than any other boarding process.

Thank you, this is a new one for me. Really looking forward to the cruise.

Is there any port NCL is actually enforcing the arrival time?

 

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They were in Boston last June. People arriving after their chosen boarding time had no problem but the early birds weren't allowed to head to the escalator for check-in.

Anyway...I am wondering if choosing the early arrival times will mean you can actually board at that time, or if we would be left sitting in the terminal for several hours. I've never been on a cruise where the ship was ready to board much before noon. Seems like having passengers arrive as early as 9:30 would cause quite a crowd in the terminal if boarding doesn't begin right away.

General boarding starts around 11:30. You should allow about 45 minutes for security and checkin.

We are very experienced cruisers and show up around 10:15, get through security and checkin, and read the morning paper until boarding starts. No sense sitting around a hotel paying for food when there is a beautiful ship paid for.

None that I'm aware of. How could they?. You were supposed to get here at 10:30, and it's 11:30 now. so you can't check in. LOL I know it's suppose to work the other way, but it really can't be enforced. No one even looks at the times on the edocs.

It certainly is enforced with Carnival.....many of their ports are staggered arrival and if you show up at 10 but your arrival time is 11 they make you wait....

They were in Boston last June. People arriving after their chosen boarding time had no problem but the early birds weren't allowed to head to the escalator for check-in.

Thank you!! Heading on the Dawn May 5 (Boston) and an arrival time choice was not part of the online check-in.... printed eDocs without it and checked last week and it was now required.... reprinted eDocs with the arrival time.

Wonder what happens if people don't catch it after printing eDocs..... always an adventure.

They were in Boston last June. People arriving after their chosen boarding time had no problem but the early birds weren't allowed to head to the escalator for check-in.

Wow! Remind me not cruise out of Boston. LOL In the last couple years we've cruised out of NYC, Miami, New Orleans, Tampa, and Barcelona on NCL. None of them ever checked anything.

Wow! Remind me not cruise out of Boston. LOL In the last couple years we've cruised out of NYC, Miami, New Orleans, Tampa, and Barcelona on NCL. None of them ever checked anything.

I just want NCL to decide if they want the local Port Authority to either "do it or not do it" just be consistent across the board. If they choose not to... then take it off the on-line check-in - mini rant over

I wonder if the option of "Choose check-in time" is only for American embarkation ports? We did an European cruise last September out of Venice that did NOT have any option or "demand" to choose a specific check-in time. And we have a cruise booked for next week out of Barcelona, and I just doublechecked my e-docs to see if there was any mention about a specific check-in time, and there is not.....

Arrival time is for checking-in and has little to do with boarding time. NCL tries to spread out the check-in load by scheduling specific times throughout the morning. Since many passengers are arriving in taxis straight from a flight, they have little choice on their arrival times.

 

 

The boarding process itself on NCL is really pretty simple. No one is allowed to board the ship until all previous guests are off and the ship is certified as empty. That is generally about 11 am. Sometimes you get lucky and the ship is cleared by 10:30 am but it can often be as late as 11 or 11:30 am. Once the ship is cleared, suite guests will be the first to board. After suite guests, it is Latitude members, Platinum and above by level and finally the the check-in folks in the waiting areas. If you choose to arrive and check-in at 8:30 am, you will join a group of passengers in a waiting area until all of this has occurred. If the waiting areas are your idea of getting an early start...go for it. Most of the more experienced cruisers arrive after 12 or 1 pm when both check-in and boarding are much quicker..

I don't know any experienced cruisers that wait until 12 or 1 to check in unless they are forced to by a flight. More common among experienced cruisers is to get there between 10-10:30 to breeze thru security and check-in before the mob arrives around 11:30-12 expecting to get right onto the ship. I'd much rather sit to wait for boarding than wait in security lines for an hour or so.

I wonder if the option of "Choose check-in time" is only for American embarkation ports? We did an European cruise last September out of Venice that did NOT have any option or "demand" to choose a specific check-in time. And we have a cruise booked for next week out of Barcelona, and I just doublechecked my e-docs to see if there was any mention about a specific check-in time, and there is not.....

I don't know if it is only a requirement in the US but if you are in a suite or Platinum or higher, you do not have to choose a time. We can show up whenever we want. That could be why you don't see it also.

For NYC, as of last Sunday when I was there, if you arrived before your time, the port authority had you stand at a section roped off until the time approached. It seems as if they are controlling the crowd through the security checkpoint. They asked everyone to show their pass with the time.

Of course, this is the busiest time of the morning (1030-1230), so perhaps if the line at security isn't too bad, they dont care about your arrival time on your pass.

What port are you sailing out of and what time of year? This might be another factor in your responses. We travelled April school vacation week out of NYC - super busy - and we picked arrival time 930. We got there at 1030. We showed our pass and they let us in to go through security. The other folks with us picked 11--they were ushered to the roped off section. It really wasn't a problem since none of us got to board til @ 1145. Seems like this 'arrival time' thing is an attempt at crowd control at the port.

For NYC, as of last Sunday when I was there, if you arrived before your time, the port authority had you stand at a section roped off until the time approached. It seems as if they are controlling the crowd through the security checkpoint. They asked everyone to show their pass with the time.

I am on the Breakaway in June. I can't find anywhere to choose a check in time. We did choose one on cruises out of Miami, and it was ignored. I can't find a place for that for this cruise though.

EDIT - I just went back and looked, and it's now been added. My check in process had been at 100% forever, and it just went down to 80%, so that I could choose a time. That wasn't there last week.